Fourth grader Ava Bowser (left) talks to kindergartener Maryn Matolyak who was sitting on the Buddy Bench during lunch break at Lincoln Elementary school in Cuyahoga Falls on Tuesday. (Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

Kindergartener Madeline Snow sits on the on the Buddy Bench at Lincoln Elementary school in Cuyahoga Falls on Tuesday. (Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

During a May assembly at Craddock and Miller Elementary schools in Aurora, counselor Tami Mazzella sports a Buddy Bench T-shirt and plays the Buddy Bench theme song while students sing along. (Doug Livingston/Akron Beacon Journal)